(JTA) — A conference in Prague stressed the urgency of resolving restitution issues for Holocaust survivors and their families.
Representatives of 41 countries gathered this week for The Immovable Property Review Conference, which said in a news release that resolving restitution issues is a "moral imperative that would also produce tangible practical and economic results."
Conference participants reiterated their support for the Terezin Declaration of June 2009, ratified by 46 countries, which established clear guidelines for the restitution of private and communal assets forcibly seized during the Holocaust.
The conference focused on practical ways in which, even during economic hardship in Europe, restitution and compensation of property confiscated by the Nazis and their collaborators could be achieved in an affordable and practical manner.
It was organized by the European Shoah Legacy Institute in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic and the Forum 2000 Foundation. The institute is organizing a follow-up conference for 2013 in Brussels focused on social welfare issues for Holocaust survivors.
